She tugged on his hand. He leaned down and she whispered in his ear, although at this close range, anyone with wolf hearing could hear. “Can you spend Christmas with us?”
He smiled and gently pulled affectionately on a length of one of her curls. “I’ve got to rescue another kid. You be good and Santa will bring you lots of presents.”
Paul patted Jimmy on the shoulder. “It’s been good knowing you, son.” He pointed to Bjornolf. “Like he said, be good. Santa should be coming real soon.”
The mother profusely thanked them. Bjornolf couldn’t figure her out. Did she really believe her husband wanted her and the kids dead, or had it been a case of an overactive imagination? Trauma like she’d been through could cause that. The two Wentworth brothers said nothing, looking glum.
Bjornolf noted that once Helen and William had left the vehicles, William made no effort to approach her, offer her a hug, or hold her hand. Nor had he done anything to show affection toward the kids. He hadn’t before he retired to the other cabana last night, either. Hell, if the kids and wife had been Bjornolf’s, he would have been hugging them to pieces and not letting go.
Finished with the job, Hunter and his team took one of the SUVs, leaving the other behind for Hunter’s contact to pick up at the embassy. On the way to the airport, Bjornolf and Anna related the talk they’d had with Helen.
“You know what I think?” Paul asked.
“What’s that?” Anna asked.
“The wife knows more than she’s letting on.”
“I thought the same,” Anna said. “Like she knows William is capable of murder. And how would she know that?”
Hunter shook his head. “Hell, I thought it was a simple case of blackmail, trying to steal money from his company, avoiding taxes, tax write-off. I’ll have some men look into it.”
Everyone was quiet after that, tired and ready to go home. Hunter didn’t tell Anna all about the new mission, but she agreed to do it, whatever it was. Bjornolf hoped she would still be willing when she heard what it entailed. When they arrived at the airport, Hunter arranged for Anna to fly home with Bjornolf and him. They still had another two hours before their flight left for the States, so they dropped into one of the VIP lounges to drink a round of beers and sat in several lounge chairs circling a coffee table.
Bjornolf wondered what Anna was thinking as they all wound down from the mission. He was glad to be here with them, finishing the job like this.
Hunter turned to Anna. “I need to talk with you about another mission. You don’t have a contract of your own anytime soon after Christmas, right? This might take a bit of time.”
She shook her head, but she looked a little wary. “Bjornolf is working with you?”
“Yeah. But this assignment’s close to home.”
“Oregon coast,” she said.
“Yeah. You’ll need some winter clothes. When we arrive in Portland, we can take you shopping. Funds will come out of my budget. You’ll actually need an assortment and Tessa can help you with it.”
“An assortment?” she asked, looking puzzled.
“To blend in,” Hunter said.
“And Bjornolf, too,” she said.
Bjornolf dipped his head in agreement.
Looking intrigued, Allan and Paul shifted their gazes from Anna to Hunter.
Seeing their interest, Hunter asked, “Sure you guys don’t want to come along for the ride?”
“Still got plans,” Allan said.
Bjornolf was looking forward to this new mission. He smiled at Hunter and raised his beer to him. Hunter saluted him back. They both polished off their beers, and Hunter ordered another round.
This was one Christmas Bjornolf thought he might enjoy.
Anna gave him a pointed look.
Or not.
Chapter 6
As they took off on the flight for Portland, Anna wondered what lay in store for her. She was always ready for a mission, but something about this one made her wary. Hunter was usually good about giving her detailed instructions, but this time he seemed reluctant to say anything.
Sitting in the middle of a row, Anna realized she’d fallen asleep against Bjornolf’s shoulder, waking when the hostess offered drinks. Anna quickly sat up and looked at him to see if he’d noticed. He smiled down at her.
His sweet expression surprised her. That one smile undid her and her whole body warmed. Hunter, who was seated next to the aisle, passed two plastic cups of water over to Anna and Bjornolf and asked for the same.
She was dying to ask Hunter what the mission was, but she knew he wouldn’t be able to say until they were in a private vehicle where he could talk freely.
She drank her water and felt revived. Ready for the next mission. Bring it on.
“So you didn’t have any plans for the holidays?” Bjornolf said to her.
She looked at Bjornolf, whose gaze shifted behind her to Hunter. She suspected he was motioning to kill the subject. Christmas was not good for her.
“Me, neither,” Bjornolf said, shrugging. “I have a brother, but I haven’t seen him in years. After the bear incident, life at home was never the same.”
She was surprised to hear him speak about it again. Why had he confided in her? If she’d had such an experience, she wouldn’t have told anyone.
He was watching her, not looking away, waiting as before for her response. She took a deep breath. “Your brother didn’t go with you that day.”
“Nah. He was always the good kid. Never did anything wrong. Never wild or adventurous. Sometimes I wish I had been more like him.”
“A lot of people have depended on you, Bjornolf,” she said softly. “I don’t think anyone would have wanted you to be anything other than who you are.”
He gave her one of his elusive smiles.
Her hormone levels rose. The problem with a guy like Bjornolf was that he intrigued her. But she wasn’t going to tell him that.
“So… it happened at Christmastime?” she asked.
“Yeah. Shortly before then. You can’t imagine what it was like to see the pack members for Christmas and know that one family had lost their son before the big day. I couldn’t deal with it. Had nightmares about it forever.”
She looked away before her own bad memories swamped her. “I don’t do Christmas.”
“None of it?”
“Unless I’m desperate. I don’t mall shop if I can avoid it. I can’t even imagine going to one this time of year. I don’t need to see a rotund man with a fake snow-white beard and a bunch of squirmy kids waiting beside a faux candy-cane fence, with fluffy pretend snow all over the place. Or crowds of harried shoppers buying a bunch of junk that will be given away at white-elephant parties later. Even trying to find a parking place at such a time is a nightmare,” she said.
He laughed.
She smiled, glad he didn’t think she was a Scrooge. She wasn’t. She just didn’t have any need for Christmas.
“No Christmas trees, baking sugar cookies, viewing Christmas lights, watching sappy Christmas stories?”
She folded her arms, but she couldn’t help smile at him. “Nope.”
“No Christmas jingles?”
“Not a single one.”
“I have to admit that while we were in the jungle and I was shadowing you with jungle noises all around us, I couldn’t get the words to ‘Jingle Bells’ out of my head.”
She laughed, the notion so funny that she couldn’t help herself. “And when I saw you wearing all that camo paint, looking hot and tough, I thought you were so macho.”
“I was. I am.”
She heard Hunter chuckle beside her and smiled.
Bjornolf hadn’t felt so relaxed in a long time. He enjoyed talking with Anna. He’d never told anyone beyond his wolf pack what had happened to his friend that day. He wasn’t even sure why he had confided in her. To see if she looked at him with as much loathing as his own pack had done, maybe?